Chris Chiozza and Florida marching full speed into Elite Eight after thrilling buzzer-beater win over Wisconsin

The Gator with the best getaway speed is Chris Chiozza. It isn't close.

By his calculation, one dribble in full stride requires one second of game time. It is SEC speed by any recognized gauge. It is also why the Gators are still going.

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Chiozza beat his best estimation in taking an inbounds pass and whirring through a pair of Wisconsin defenders 50 minutes past midnight. Video of his four-second flash from the Sweet 16 win is reviewable: five dribbles, four seconds, one two-foot jump stop, 73 feet trekked, a floater lofted and 20,047 fan reactions.

Those in blue and orange reveled; the red-clad gasped. The end result goes down as Florida 84, Wisconsin 83, the wildest of Sweet 16 swings, from Wisconsin guard Zak Showalter, a former walk-on, forcing overtime off the wrong foot to Chiozza's sprinting riposte, his image forever to be suspended mid-air. It is viral and available, rivaling any previous buzzer beater, from Charles to Laettner to Edney to Jenkins. What is clear in hindsight appeared one long blur that slowed into a time freeze to court-side witnesses.

"I looked up and it just kept floating," Florida forward Devin Robinson says. "I was like, 'Oh snap.' Like this might go in. And it dropped. I was like, 'Oh, wow.'"

Chris Chiozza and Florida are still buzzing after his incredible game-winner Friday night. (Julio Cortez/AP)

"When I watch it, it just looks like I lost the ball going up," Chiozza says. "It looks like there's no way it is going in."

It will be known as The Badger Beater, the shot that finished off a senior class in search of a third Final Four appearance. A Memphian who grew up rooting for Derrick Rose in a title game that saw him on the losing end of a last-second shot, Chiozza provided the finishing touch for Florida's win. It was a walk-off runner, the bright orange ball ripping through Garden net cords, and lifting Florida back to the brink of the Final Four, a part of the bracket it last saw in 2014 when Billy Donovan was head coach. Chiozza hadn't heard from Donovan, now in his second season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Saturday, but hundreds of others reached out. He received text messages from friends, family members and unknown numbers. The moment is indelible, but he wants more, namely an Elite 8 win over South Carolina.

"We'll go back, celebrate the wins and mourn the losses, and go back and watch Chris' shot a million times in the spring," Florida coach Mike White says, "but right now it's about the Gamecocks."

Chiozza and Florida celebrate Friday but it's back to business on Saturday. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

The game wrapped at 12:50 a.m. Saturday, and Chiozza took a warm shower to move on. He watched "Neighbors" on his hotel television, and can't remember the time that he fell asleep. He was back at the Garden for an afternoon shootaround shortly before 3 p.m. Saturday. Tipoff against South Carolina is Sunday at 2:20 p.m.

"I'm not sure Chris has slept yet," White says.

No alarm clocks will be needed for the SEC battle. It is a Bring Your Own Stopwatch conference for football, and basketball isn't standing flatfooted. Here come Chiozza and the Gators, chomping at the bit to get back on the Garden court. They know the tight turnaround that is required to win a regional in the NCAA. Saturday morning meant stretches and massages, but there is no rush to knead out the muscle memory, though. Fluids were provided; fuel is ready to be burned.

Chiozza is chasing a championship. His race didn't end with the kill shot. There is one more game, one more step needed. The ball will be in his hands, and the Gamecocks will bump him and try to limit his bursts in ways that Wisconsin failed to do at game's end. He insists turnovers will decide the contest, and momentum from the game winner can only carry them so far in the next round.

Get the stopwatches ready. SEC speed is coming to the Garden. This isn't a Pro Day on a sun-splashed field in April. It's for a berth in the Final Four. Chiozza's message is clear to the team giving chase: Game on, Gamecocks. Come and get him.